Fumbled (The Girls of Beachmont #1) (5 page)

I shook my head slowly,
not knowing what he was talking about, but he continued.

“I don’t think I’ve
known anyone as dedicated to these kids as you are, but I’ve already gotten two
phone calls from companies who want to make donations to River’s Kids. I’m
proud of you,” he beamed.

“Thank you, sir. But I
just called them this morning,” I said, recalling the runaround that at least
four companies had given me.

“There’s still a ways to
go, but this is a great start. And you have the rest of the summer to figure
out how to get another year from this program. I don’t have to tell you what an
asset it’s been to our students.”

“I’m going to do my
best, Mr. Lopez,” I said with sincerity. “I love these kids.”

It was true. The
students could be frustrating and mouthy, but at the end of the day they had
one thing in common: they wanted something better.

“I know you do, Dani.
And they love you.”

“Sir, I’ve contacted so
many companies today, but there’s so much more to do and I’m at a loss. Who
else can I contact?”

“Have you tried the
Gulls? The Quakes? The Ballers? Sometimes the major league teams can donate
items.”

“Don’t you think they
get hit up all the time? Why would they take my call?”

“It never hurts to ask.”
He smiled.

“So I’ve heard,” I
responded. “Actually, I plan to go home today and look for more grants. Those
served us well this past year—maybe we’ll strike gold again.”

“If anyone can do it,
it’s you, Ms. Miner. I have no doubt that River’s Kids will live to see another
year. Great job.”

“Thank you.” I smiled.

I got up from my chair
and started to leave the office but turned to face him.

“Thank you for being so
supportive of the program. I’m not sure many administrators would give their
time and attention like you. So thank you,” I told him, and waved as I left the
office before he could say anything.

With a renewed sense of
hope, I made my way to my classroom and closed it up. The rest could wait until
the next day. I was eager to get home and research anything I could to get
funding for my kids.

D A N I

Tabor: Are we still on
for tonight?

Me: We’re good :)

Tabor: Did you work
today?

Me: From home

Tabor: Teachers can work
from home now?

Me: When they’re trying
to get funding they can.

Tabor: Funding??

Me: My after-school
program

When he didn’t respond,
I went back to my research. I had spent the better part of my day poring over
website after website, looking at various foundations and sponsors for programs
like mine. Between the two businesses that had contacted the school the day
before, we had secured half the money needed. I still had a long way to go.

My phone rang and
Tabor’s name flashed on the screen.

“Hello?”

“Hey Dani, it’s Tabor.
Can you talk?”

“Yeah,” I answered,
surprised that he called. “What’s up?”

“You mentioned funding
for your after-school program and I was curious.” He sounded like a
businessman, not the flirtatious roadside hero from the other day.

I really
liked
that
guy.

“Anything in
particular?” I tried not to sound too disappointed about the reason he’d
called. Not exactly something that gets you excited about a date later that
day, but still nice that he took an interest.

“Can you tell me about
it?”

I felt lightness in my
chest and I smiled. Philip wasn’t interested in my program when I was trying to
get it off the ground, but Tabor was a complete stranger who had asked more
about it in two simple questions. I tried to focus on that, and not the fact
that he hadn’t flirted with me at all.

I took a deep breath and
began recalling how the after-school program came to be.

“I started teaching at
River Valley two years ago, and noticed that many of my students came from
single-parent homes. Others had two working parents, so the kids were going to
empty homes for a couple of hours. Not the worst thing in the world, I know.
But some of the kids were getting in trouble because they had too much idle
time. So I went to my principal with the idea for River’s Kids.”

“So the program’s been
running for two years?” His intrigued tone was something I wasn’t used to when
I talked about the program.

“No. Unfortunately it
took longer than I thought to get the grant money—a year, actually. But
once we got it, it was only a matter of time until kids were lined up to
participate. Several of my co-workers have given their time for an hour after
school, which allowed us to open the door to more students.”

“That’s impressive,” he
said. “So did you apply for more grants?”

“I’ve been in the
process of doing that and talking to several businesses to see if they’d be
willing to sponsor us.”

“That’s great,” he said,
not elaborating further.

“So is this why you
called me?” I asked coyly.

“Yes,” he answered
softly, adding, “and to make sure you weren’t going to back out tonight.”

There it is, the flirting I’m looking for.

“I told you we’re still
on,” I laughed.

“Just wanted to hear
your voice to make sure you weren’t lying.” I imagined his cute smile appearing
at his words, and it made my heart flutter.

“Did I pass the test?” I
asked him, using his words from the other day.

“Yeah. You did,” he
laughed. “We’re going to have fun tonight. I promise.”

“Are you always so sure
of yourself?” I teased playfully.

“There are few places in
my life where I’m not sure of myself,” he quipped.

“And those would be?”

He sucked in a rush of
air and tsked. “Maybe once I get to know you better I’ll let you know.”

“Good thing I agreed to
go out with you then, huh?”

“I’m looking forward to
seeing you,” he said sweetly. “I don’t go out very often.”

“Oh? Why is that?” I
asked, curious why the Greek god didn’t date.

“Work,” he said quickly.
“Work has me traveling a lot, so my schedule is pretty tough.”

“That sucks,” I
sympathized. “How are you going to meet anyone if you never get out?”

“I met you, didn’t I?”

“You’ve got me there.”

“But really, that’s the
least of my worries,” he muttered under his breath. “Just too busy, I guess.”

I found myself unable to
respond to his words because I found them confusing. In the brief conversation
we’d had, I’d learned that he traveled a lot and he was likely too busy for
relationships.

I wasn’t looking for an
ever after
, but what was the point in
going out with him if it couldn’t go anywhere?

“I’m in town for a
while,” he finally said, breaking me of my thoughts.

“What’s that?” I asked,
shaking the cobwebs from my mind.

“I just realized how all
of that sounded.” He chuckled lightly. “I’m not doing any traveling for the
next couple of months.”

“Oh, that’s great,” I
said a little to eagerly. I didn’t know Tabor from the stranger on the street,
but the idea of not getting a chance to get to know him had unsettled me.

“I better let you go so
you can finish up before tonight. I’ll see you at seven,” he said.

“See you then,” I said
before hanging up the phone.

I sat at the kitchen
table staring at my phone, wishing I had been more suave. Before Philip I had
been outspoken and outgoing, but that had disappeared and I hated that I was
missing that part of me. I had been fighting like hell to get back to my old
self.

The old me would have
flirted easily. She would have made sure that Tabor knew she was interested in
him. More importantly, she wouldn’t have needed to go to her sister to mentally
prepare.

I grabbed my papers and
laptop, stuffed them into my bag, and hurried out the door to head to Grace’s.
I needed her pep talk. I needed her to calm me.

***

“So you’re going out
with him tonight?” Grace asked from behind her couch when we finished the tour
of Cleo’s newly redecorated bedroom.

My sister was always
worried about what I was doing with my free time. She’d met my brother-in-law,
Trevor, in high school and they’d been together ever since. None of us were
surprised when they married at twenty, before they finished college. They were
in love and nothing would stop them. They’d waited until they graduated before
starting their family. When little Cleo made her entrance two years ago, I
don’t think I’d seen either of them as happy as they were in that moment.

“Yep.” I smiled at her
before giving my full attention back to Cleo, who was running around the
kitchen chasing the dog Skip.

“And he’s taking you to
Metropolis?” she asked, handing me a towel to dry the platter she washed.

“Yep.” I grinned,
setting it down before chasing after Cleo, who was laughing hysterically. I
caught her and lifted her in the air, blowing on her tummy.

“Okay, what gives?
You’re holding out on me, I know it. Why didn’t you tell me about this the
other night? What does he look like?”

“He’s pretty
good-looking,” I offered.

“Are we talking
boy-next-door cute? Exotic hot? Model sexy? C’mon, Dani, fill me in,” she
whined.

“I don’t know how to
describe him. I tried telling Millie about him, but I couldn’t find the words.
He’s just…beautiful,” I sighed. “But not at all the type I’d typically go for.”

“And that would be?”

“Suit-and-tie guy, I
guess.”

“Different is good.”
Grace sat on a barstool and angled her body to face me. “So what’s he like?”

“In the brief time I
talked with him, he’s really nice. And funny. The guy doesn’t know me at all,
but he was so easy to joke around with and tease.”

“Okay, okay, so he’s got
a great personality,” she droned. “What does he
look
like?”

“Dude is built like a
damn football player. He’s huge! I mean, seriously has to be like six three or
something. And then there’s like muscles…everywhere,” I told her, using my
hands to describe his build.

“How would you know what
a football player looks like?” she teased.

“Just because I don’t
follow the sport doesn’t mean I don’t know what one would look like.”

“Okay, so the guy sounds
pretty great,” she sighed.

“Tabor,” I said,
returning my attention to Cleo.

“Tabor?” Grace repeated.

“Yeah. That’s his name.”
I glanced up for a moment and saw this weird look on her face. “What?”

“Nothing.” She shook her
head and tried to play it off.

“Don’t ‘nothing’ me,
Gracie…I know that look!”

She stared at me blankly
and panic surged through my body.

“Oh hell, did you date a
Tabor or something? I don’t remember a Tabor.”

“No. It’s just…well, you
said he’s built like a football player?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“And his name is Tabor?”

“Gracie! What the hell?”
I all but shouted. Had Cleo not been right there, the language would have been
more colorful. “You know, I came here for the old Gracie pep talk…but I have to
say, you’re failing miserably. I think I’m more nervous than when I got here.
Thanks a lot.”

“Give me one second.
Okay?” She jumped up and disappeared from the kitchen, leaving me with Cleo.

“Your mommy’s losing
it,” I whispered to my niece.

Cleo bobbed her head up
and down as if she understood what I was saying, and I laughed. “Momma cwazey.”

“Yeah, you know it too,
don’t you?” I answered.

“Mommy isn’t that
crazy,” Gracie said as she entered the room with her laptop in hand. “His last
name wouldn’t happen to be Hunter, would it?”

My eyes widened at the
name and she had my full attention. She waved me over and I scurried to my
feet, sitting next to her with the computer on the counter. There were tons of
tiny thumbnail pictures of football players, but I still wasn’t following.

“Okay, just because I
said he’s built like a football player doesn’t mean you and Trevor are going to
get me to watch the damn sport, Gracie.”

She ignored me and
clicked on a link that brought up a larger image, and my heart stopped.

The eyes. The smile. The
build. All of it was the man I’d met only days before and I was stunned into
silence.

“That’s Tabor,” I
whispered, unable use my full voice.

“
That’s
JT Hunter, Dani. Star defensive lineman for the Quakes,” she
informed me.

“You have got to be
kidding me,” I said, shaking my head. “There’s no way that Tabor is a
professional football player. He would have said something,” I said. “Wouldn’t
he?”

Gracie didn’t respond.
Instead she clicked on another link and biographical information about Tabor
appeared on the screen.

Born Jordan Tabor Hunter on October 15, 1989 in Chicago, IL.

“How did you know it was
the same guy?” I asked, still staring at the screen, my hand covering my mouth.

“You know JT is my
favorite player and Tabor isn’t exactly a common name, Dani,” she answered.
“Besides, you said he’s built like a football player and it just clicked.
Question is, how did you
not
know it
was him?”

“You said it yourself:
I’m not the football fan.”

“
Everyone
knows who he is.”

I stared at her blankly
and she shook her head.

“Yeah, I know, look who
I’m talking to: the woman who hates football.”

“I don’t hate it, I just
don’t watch it,” I laughed.

“You’re missing out.
Tight uniforms, bulging muscles…do I need to go on?” She sighed, lost in her
own world.

“You know how Dad is.
During football season, nothing else exists. So yeah, sorry that I’m not a diehard
like you,” I teased.

“How are we even
related?” Grace laughed. “We need to do a blood test or something.”

“Agreed,” I said
straight-faced. “Or maybe I was born without the football gene.”

Cleo started squealing
loudly and banging her toys on the counter. I swooped down and picked her up,
turning my back to the computer screen as I walked into the living room.

“You’re going out with
JT Hunter,” Gracie said, her eyes glazing over.

“No, I’m going out with
Tabor,” I corrected and then gave Cleo my attention. “Isn’t that right?” I said
in a silly voice. She started laughing and I set her down at her play kitchen.